The Broken Things
by Neonnn
Summary: It is Christmastime in Ninjago, yet everything is finally brightening up after Zane's death. However, Jay is falling apart. Things are breaking. Hearts. Tree branches. Necks. The ninja of lightning finds himself in a place of despair- literally.


"Hey, ma."

"Ah, hello Jay! You don't call often! Merry Christmas! How are you doing, sweetie?"

"I'm okay. How are you and Dad?"

"We are wonderful! How is everyone dealing with...the loss?"

"We are alright. But...It's hard...this is gonna be the first Christmas without him."

"I'm so sorry, dear-y. And the poor AI girl...I heard she lost her mind."

"Yea, PIXAL started hearing Zane's voice and seeing things that weren't there. Cyrus Borg had to shut her down indefinitely."

"That's such a shame. She was a sweet girl. Why are you calling, Hun?"

"Well, I wanna invite you and Dad over on Christmas Eve. Everyone's gonna be there. Cole's dad, the Garmadon family, Mr. Borg, all of us."

"We'd love to come! Expect us over for sure! Merry Christmas, dear."

"Merry Christmas."

Jay, ninja of lightning, tossed his phone down beside him onto the thick, blue covers of his bed. He laid down beside it and stared at the ceiling, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn't like talking about Zane's death. No one did. It had been a quiet holiday season to this point. Now, everyone was slowly recovering, and the cheerful feeling of the season had seeped it's way into Sensei Wu's school- the home of the ninja. Now, the red haired young man had turned and looked around his room. It was rather plain; the last poster he had torn down last week. "Star Farer is for children." He had been mercilessly led to hear every time he spoke highly of it, and the statement was eventually agreed upon with himself. "I used to talk when I felt bad with Nya." A lump grew in his throat, and his eyes stung from the terrible urge to cry. Nya still could not choose between Jay and the enemious latter- Cole.

There was a quick knock on the door. "Hey, Jay!" On the other side of the door Kai spoke, his voice cheerful and panting as if he had just darted up all the stairs in an effort to bring Jay the question as speedily as he could. "Wanna come with us to get a Christmas tree?"

"Nah, I'll stay."

"Come on! Nya, Cole, Lloyd and I are gonna go down to that forest near here and cut down a tree."

"Go without me."

"Alright." Kai's voice dropped in a sort of disappointed way, as if you could actually hear the pout he wore. He turned and left, excitement still audible in his footsteps.

"Zane wouldn't want this." Jay told himself angrily. "This is Christmas time! I'm missing out!" He bolted up and darted to his door, opened it up and ran outside. "Hang on, Kai! I changed my mind!"

-

The group of five trekked out of Sensei's school and walked down a trail into the thick woodlands. They looked at the grand firs that sprang up every so often. "Most of these are too big to fit in the living room." Lloyd declared.

"It's fine," said Cole eagerly. "We can always cut them higher up above the bottom branches. It'll fit in our house that way, plus the tree stump will keep growing."

"You know a lot about nature." Nya said with a small smile.

"It's all part of being the earth-ninja." Cole replied, flexing the muscles on his arms.

"You look like you're on steroids." Jay mumbled beside Cole's ear.

The black haired young adult shot an blaringly angry glance back at his teammate. "You're just jealous cause you're only 5'8" and look like the girl on Popeye."

"Ohh my gosh!" Nya exclaimed, waving her hands around. "Do NOT telling me you think it's acceptable to be fighting right now."

Both boys clamped their mouths shut and looked away from each other with their chests puffed up and arms crossed tightly.

"Hey, Cole!" Kai said quickly, attempting to break the awkward silence. "I bet I can beat you to that really tall tree over there!" He pointed to a mildly distant redwood that towered above the area.

"Are you serious?" Cole groaned. But once he saw Kai had already began a sloppy, running bolt toward the tree, the ninja of earth chased after the finish line as well.

"I'll beat both of you!" Lloyd exclaimed and joined in.

Nya sighed. Jay walked along next to her, feeling nearly sick from the painful awkwardness in the atmosphere.

"It's not bad weather, for December." Jay said.

"Nya nodded. "Not a flake of snow."

"It kinda sucks, though, cause I used to have a tradition in my family where I'd build a snowman the same day my family got a Christmas tree."

"That makes no sense, but it's cute." Nya giggled with a crooked smirk.

"I...like your hair like that." Jay pointed out Nya's loose bun.

"Thank you. Y'know, Cole didn't even complement it."

"Cole is a dou-...Cole is pretty strong."

"Yea. But, I mean,"

"He looks like the Man of Steel, but I look like, well, Olive from Popeye." He flexed his muscles, which were much less defined than Cole's.

"Naw," Nya said. "You are strong in other ways."

_I hope she doesn't mean emotionally. _Jay thought.

"Hey, Nya! Jay!" We found the perfect tree!" Lloyd's voice echoed through the forest.

Jay and Nya ran to the tree. Jay's heart fluttered. All kinds of worries and heartache had seemed to melt away; he felt in love again. Kai had taken a saw and was cutting down a decently sized grand fir. Cole was in position to catch it when it fell, and Lloyd was watching happily with his hands on his hips. The crisp sound of tree bark crumbling and dew covered branches rustling filled the air. Cole grabbed the trunk of the cut down plant and dragged it behind him as the group began the walk back home.

-

"Happy Christmas! Holidays! Merry!" Jay called out as the five burst into the front door and carried the tree upstairs above the classrooms to the living room. Nya ran and grabbed an already existing tree stand, placing it in the corner. Cole set the tree down into it, and everyone admired the tree. "Wonderful!" Sensei Wu said, walking into the room. He held a long string of untangled lights. The next few hours were spent decorating the tree, then preparing the house for the guests that were set to come in two days.

-

Jay stumbled off into his room, his eyes dropping from severe exhaustion. He fell onto his bed and passed out into a deep slumber. As he slept, his mind drifted off and he dreamt of a dark place, with a deep, black cold atmosphere where daggering rocks split out from the crumbling ground. A rotted throne sat at the end of a room. A voice whispered down the chambers. "Welcome to the Underworld."

Jay woke suddenly. It was dark midnight. His heart beat was violent; sweat dripped down his forehead and he felt nauseous. Soon he fell back into a dull state of being half-asleep, and eventually drifted off once more.

-

"Hey, hey! Dad!" Cole greeted his father as the mustache-wearing man knocked on the door in a fashionable rhythm.

"Son!" Cole's dad hugged the young man tightly. "It's so good to be here! Where is everyone?"

"All upstairs! Follow me! You're the last guest."

The two climbed upstairs into the cheerful living room. Talking and eating food, were Jay, Kai, Nya, Lloyd, Sensei Wu, Sensei Garmadon, his wife Misako, Cyrus Borg, Dareth, and Jay's parents Ed and Edna.

Cole and Lou took seats on an open couch and the last guest was greeted by everyone with handshakes and cheerful "Good to see you"s.

Cole went into the kitchen and came back out with a tray of glasses of eggnog. After being questioned if it was his own concoction, and he replied that it wasn't, everyone gladly took a cup.

"...And then I lit the match! What a dumb idea, cause obviously it exploded!" Jay continued his tale, the long sleeves of his navy and white patterned Christmas sweater flailing above his head as he waved his arms around. "And that, is how I got the scar on my eyebrow."

Everyone clapped. Edna cut in. "He was in the hospital for burns, as well, though! Bless my soul, I was worried sick!"  
>Ed nodded his head. "But he sure was a charmer with the nurses."<p>

The party continued in a wonderful event of games and story telling. The time came when everyone was going to open gifts.

"Where's Nya? And Cole?" Kai asked quickly, looking around.

"Nya went outside to get some fresh air." Lloyd replied. "I dunno where Cole is."

"I'll get Nya!" Jay hopped up eagerly. He darted out of the room and made his way downstairs.

He walked towards the front door and opened it slowly. "Nya I-"

On the front porch, the backdrop of stars and forest behind them; arms wrapped around each other, Nya and Cole embraced and were kissing passionately. Realizing Jay had come and stood before them, Nya broke away suddenly. The ninja of lightning wore a dull, undefined expression. His face was pale. Nya let out a small whimper of sudden regret and embarrassment. "Oh, Jay...I..."

Jay bit his lip and held back the tears that threatened to pour down his face. "I see." He mumbled. Then he breathed in heavily, pushed Cole out of the way, and ran away.

-

The young man ran through the dark night of Christmas Eve. The stars hung low in the sky and the moon provided a dim light that lit the path into the forest. Jay bolted down it, stumbling and tripping every so often. He grabbed his head as he ran. "I thought things were getting better! I thought things were getting better!" At this point, tears were flowing down his face and he was sobbing uncontrollably. He ran further, deep into the forest, until he came up to a tree. It was a towering redwood, its branches springing up everywhere from its trunk. Upon further inspection, Jay realized it was the same tree Kai, Cole, and Lloyd had raced to the day they got their Christmas tree. He put his left foot on a low branch. His right foot on another. In a spur of the moment, he clambered up the tree until he was over 10 feet off the ground. He sat uncomfortably on a thick branch, his head resting against the reddish, soft bark of the trunk. He closed his eyes. "This is the worst Christmas ever." As he mumbled out those words, the branch he rested on made a horrifying crunch noise. The wood shattered into splinters as the branch fell out of the tree, along with Jay.

The moment seemed lifeless and slow. Head down, his body hit the cold, icy ground.

Jay could feel his neck snap.

It was painless.

And everything went black.

-

The ninja of lightning opened his eyes slowly. Lifting his heavy eyelids was a painful task, and his vision was blurry and spotted. He laid sprawled out on the cold, smooth ground. Tiny pebbles littered the earth and the man groaned in pain as his numb body regained feeling. He sat up slowly, blinking slowly in order to help his vision return fully. He weakly stood up and stared at his surroundings. The unknown place was dark and cold, with a horrible feeling of emptiness. Jay stumbled around helplessly, until he heard a malevolent, deep whisper echo through the land.

Then he remembered.

_Welcome to the Underworld._

Jay fell to his knees, his face paling and heart beating audibly. "Am I..._dead_?"

"Not quite, young child. For you are in a limbo, and you are dying as we speak."

Jay stood, straightened his back, and looked around sharply. "Show yourself." A hunchbacked, bony figure appeared in the shadows in front of the ninja. He lit a purple torch, which was dim -yet still luminous- in the deep, pitch darkness around it. The figure crept closer until Jay could see it fully. "S-Samukai?!"

The skeleton cracked his rotted spine. "Indeed, it is I."

"B-but...you were killed!"

"One that is already dead cannot die again. I am banished here instead, in this Limbo near the Underworld. Slowly stuck in the horrid task of a place between life and death, infinitely caused to feel the pain of exploding by the Golden Weapons."

Jay stepped closer once again. His mouth was dropped open and his limbs were weak from the pain he felt. "...Oh…" At this point, he began to question his doing there. "Will I be here forever too?"

"That depends." Samukai replied in his monotone, raspy voice. "Do you have the will to wake up in the real world? If you do, time and space will revert back several minutes and you will be healed of everything that caused you to come here."  
>"And if I don't, want to, I…?"<p>

"You will lose your existence. You will die."

Jay collapsed into a poor position with his head hanging below his trembling knees. "But...there isn't anything good in life anymore."

"I felt the same way, once." Samukai spoke. "But it is your decision, and you are still dying. I can't help you, but to say that you are still young, and the fact you were lucky enough to make it to this limbo means you did mean something to many people. Everyone means something to someone."

Jay looked up, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Samukai, I-"

The skeleton was gone, having disappeared back into the abyss of the atmosphere.

Jay sighed and stood back up straight. _My parents care about me._

Light flickered in front of his vision.

_My team cares about me._

More tears formed in his eyes, just as lights shone in the air even brighter.

_Zane cared about me._

Everything shone brighter and wind began to blow in the air.

_I care about Nya._

_And I don't want to die._

-

The ninja of lightning sat uncomfortably on a thick branch, his head resting against the reddish, soft bark of the trunk. He opened his eyes. Groggily, he woke and blinked slowly. Realizing his state, he darted down off the branch he rested on, placing his feet slowly on other branches, steadily descending down to the earth. He hopped off a branch that was around 4 feet up and landed on the ground with a small _thud_. He felt dizziness clog his head and he toppled over, passing out.

Flashlights danced around the forest, with a small search party of parents and friends looking for the blue ninja. They came across his unconscious body. "Jay!"

"Oh my gosh!"

"Carry him back! He seems fine, but out."

Once more, Jay opened his eyes slowly, waking from a state of unconsciousness he now knew too well. This time, however, he noticed he lay in a familiar place. He was covered in a soft, blue blanket, which he recognized as his own. He turned himself and looked at the blank wall he knew as that of his bedroom. The bleach white sunshine shone brightly through the window. Snow fell outside, the crystal flakes softly landing against the glass. He stood up quickly, and ran over to the window. Outside was white; he pressed his face against the cool glass and sighed. He got dressed quickly; then ran downstairs. He found himself running outside into the sugary powder. He smiled. Then, he noticed next to him on the front porch, was Nya. She ran up to him merrily. "You're awake!"

Jay bit his lip bashfully. "I...yea. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Nya said back. "Everyone else is upstairs, getting gifts ready and things. Want to go join them?"

"Wait." Jay remarked. "I have something I'd like to ask you."

Nya leaned against the wooden railing. She thought quickly about what Jay was going to ask, praying he wasn't about to deliriously ask her hand in marriage. "What is it?"

"Nya…" Jay breathed out, his breath freezing in the brisk air. "Are you in love with Cole."

Nya straightened her back and tilted her head in shock of the unexpected question. She looked to Jay, who held a blank, steady expression in wait of her answer. "Yes...yes, Jay, I am."

Jay looked forward to the scenery. "That's alright."

Nya tilted her head further, becoming even more shocked. "Hm?"

"Well," jay continued. "If you're in love with Cole, I don't want to get in the way. If you are happy with him...that's all I want."

Nya, who had turned and looked at the scenery, gazed back at Jay's face, still void of a feeling. Tears grew in Nya's eyes and they flung into the air as she turned her head. "Oh, Jay." She hugged him tightly. "I _still care_ about you."

Jay smiled weakly. "Thanks."

Nya continued. "Can we still be friends? Inventing partners? Joke makers? Can we get rid of the conflict?"  
>Jay nodded. He had begun crying along with his friend. "Yea. Will Cole mind?"<p>

"No. He'll understand. He's an understanding person. That's one of the reasons I love him. You're...okay with that?"

"Yes." Jay said.

The two of them walked together back upstairs. Jay was greeted by Sensei and his friends, who all sat around the Christmas tree wrapped in blankets and knitted sweaters. Jay was greeted with an array of "Glad you are awake"s and "Merry Christmas"es. Nya sat next to Cole, kissing him on the cheek as she sat. Jay sat between his friends and laughed. He felt his heartbeat flutter. Receiving a new Star Farer poster from everyone, along with some sincere apologies, Jay decided everything would be alright.

-

"Hey, ma!"

"Jay! Happy New year! Did you have a wonderful holiday, dear? Why are you calling?"

"I'm great! I just wanted to say hi."

"That is so sweet! And how is everyone else?"

"Everyone is doing well! Cole is at his dad's for Kwanzaa. His mom came over too."

"That is wonderful! Are things alright with Nya?"

"Yes! We talk all the time and do things together like we used to. But as friends. It's...better that way."

"As long as you are happy."

"Mom."

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Caring"

"...caring?"

"Yea. And Dad. You cared about me when I didn't back."

There was a moment of silence, and Jay took the phone away from his ear, paused, and lifted it back up. "Mom?"

"We love you so much, Jay."

"I love you too."


End file.
